Physical Education Essays – School Sports

Physical education has been a central component of the national education system since its first implementation in public schools in the late 19th century. Incorporation of physical activity into schools is believed to offer a range of physical, psychological and social benefits and the

National Curriculumcontains policy, based on research by the British Heart Foundation and independent education researchers, for physical

education and sport promotion amongst the nation’s youth. This policy has generally been effective in helping students increase their physical activity

levels and meet national guidelines. However, this policy is lacking in some ways and metrics for evaluating the success of the region’s physical education

programme are somewhat limited. The purpose of this essay is to review existing evidence regarding physical education in schools. The

benefits of physical activity for children will first be considered, followed by a review of the National Curriculum’s policy on physical education. The

efficacy of this policy will then be discussed, highlighting any evidence evaluating this relationship. Limitations to existing policy will then be

presented, and recommendations for future research and practice will be provided. This essay concludes with a brief summary and outline of key points.

Benefits of Physical Activity for Children

The UK public education system had upheld a tradition of physical activity promotion within its schools, as well as recognised the multiple benefits of

regular exercise on educational outcomes. These beliefs are based on empirical research, of which the benefits of physical activity for health and

well-being have been widely documented (see Hills et al., 2011). These benefits appear to impact three broad dimensions of well-being in youth, including

physical, psychological and social dimensions (Metcalf, Henley & Wilkin, 2012). These three dimensions combine to determine an individual’s Quality of

Life (QoL), or an individual’s subjective standard of happiness and general life satisfaction (Hills, Andersen & Byrne, 2011). QoL has become an

increasingly targeted outcome variable in public health and medical interventions due to its strong correlation with physical health (Hills et al., 2011).

activity for physical outcomes, and Janssen and LeBlanc’s (2010) physical activity recommendations provide more rigorous guidelines than those of the

National Health Service NHS (2013). Physical activity is also associated with social benefits that can improve QoL in children (Hills et al., 2011). From

an early age, physical activity plays a key role in the socialisation process of young students, who engage in play activities as a means of understanding social dynamics such as observation, modelling, sharing, social reciprocity, social exchange, gender roles and more (Brockman et al.,

2011). As children reach later stages of their academic careers, involvement in sports and non-competitive activities serve as a key social outlet for

children to continue to understand social processes and develop social skills needed to function in both the academic and professional environment (Hills

et al., 2011). Continuing to encourage the ‘play’ aspect of physical activity appears to be an important means by whichto ensure

continued participation and prevent the natural decline in physical activity that typically occurs around the ages of 10 to 11 (Brockman et al., 2011).

Though the National Curriculum for physical education is based on evidence and has recognised the widespread benefits of physical activity for UK student

population members, some limitations exist that have warranted changes within the new policy. In addition to the lack of evidence regarding its efficacy,

as well as the centralised and auditory approach toward addressing improvements in the system, the curriculum has been criticised for a lack of clarity and

a lack of awareness by parents and teachers as to how to properly implement existing policy (Haerens et al., 2011). For example, Haerens et al. (2011) showed that many teachers lack a clear understanding of the specific goals and outcomes of the National Curriculum at each Key Stage, or

suggest that these outcomes do not match the needs of their particular institution. This limitation will ideally be addressed by decentralising the new

curriculum and placing more power of design into the hands of teachers within the UK education system (Geyer, 2012).

Additionally, parents have been shown to generally lack awareness about key outcomes associated with each stage of development in UK educational pedagogy

(Kirk, 2014). This is unfortunate, as parents play a pivotal role in regulating the extracurricular activities of children, and their involvement in

promoting physical activity is crucial to capitalising on the inclusion of physical education in schools (Kirk, 2014). Implementation challenges have

plagued previous UK physical education policy, and parents may help overcome this barrier (Zhu, Ennis & Chen, 2011).There have been

contextual constraints among schools limiting fitness science learning in the academic environment, as well as discrepancies in personal values toward

physical education as a key component to a science-based educational program (Zhu et al., 2011). Greater efforts are needed to raise awareness of the

benefits of physical activity to parents in order to gain support for its inclusion and continued participation in schools (Zhu et al., 2011).

Recommendations

The benefits of physical activity for children are clear, and there are obvious societal advantages to promoting regular exercise from an early age

(Standage et al., 2012). As the academic environment represents the most optimal setting in which to promote health and physical activity, a National

Curriculum that includes physical education is crucial to a healthy and productive society (Kirk, 2014). However, improvements must be made in the

individualisation of curricula based on need, as well as efforts to monitor the efficacy of existing policy (Bohn-Gettler & Pellegrini, 2014). Finally,

greater efforts to improve awareness of policy and the benefits of physical activity, particularly amongst parents, are needed in order to ensure national

physical activity guidelines are met (Geyer, 2012).

De-centralising the National Curriculum design and providing more flexibility for individual schools to target specific needs is recommended to promote the